


Catch Fire

by OdeyPodey



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Basically it's an au, Canon-Typical Violence, Depression, Drug Use, F/M, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hospitals, M/M, No Smut, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28600422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OdeyPodey/pseuds/OdeyPodey
Summary: From a young age, you're usually taught what to do, why you do it, and how to do it. Though for Ash Lynx, life has been anything but fair and the status quo need not apply. From loosing his brother, best friend, and "father figure" he assumes life can't get any worse.Spoiler alert: It does.-A fix it fic. This is not necessarily canon compliant though refers to canon spoilers. Everything prior to episode 6 is referenced in here so spoiler warning. Each chapter has an associating song to it, which will be detailed at the beginning of each chapter. I will curate a playlist.-Also, a quick Trigger Warning since this fic deals a lot with PTSD, sexual assault, depression, and anxiety.
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Max Lobo/Jessica Randy
Comments: 9
Kudos: 25





	1. 01. Buried in Venice

**Author's Note:**

> "My Heart is Buried in Venice" - Ricky Montgomery  
> -  
> Update: Here's the playlist link. Each of the chapters has a correlating song to it, which will be the chapter titles. Just for the hell of it.  
> It WILL be expanded on and hopefully when the fics done, the entire playlist will as well <3\. This could also be a good place for updates before I actually publish the next chapters.  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5uOkx4zFWLOpHoP0ky4CBU

Ash couldn’t remember the first time he’d sat down to watch snow fall. He couldn’t exactly remember having the time to. Everything used to be so hectic that when he closed his eyes in the library and everything fell silent… it was uncomfortable. But laying in a hospital bed clad in white with the almost nonexistent beeps and groans of the machines next to him gave him a whole lot of time to do a whole lot of nothing. 

He didn’t remember coming here, not that he assumed he ever would have in the first place, but after everything went dark it all went cold as well. It was a long nap he somehow couldn’t pull himself out of. Sure he’d wake up periodically: someone would speak and grab his attention, an IV, the sounds of the cart with the janky wheel being rolled down the hallway, the occasional hiccup of air leaving and entering at the same time. It was all retained but everything that happened through bouts of sleep escaped his memories. 

He did, however, remember Max. He remembered hearing the door open and listening to a chair screech across the linoleum flooring towards his bed. Max had come to visit him for a few hours. He couldn’t really remember what was said. Something about Jessica, about Micheal, Eiji, Ibe-san… none of those sentences came to mind when reflecting on that day. He did, however, remember a few words: _We got them for you, don’t worry._ Ash didn’t quite know the context to those words. They were comforting, of course, but the sentences before them faded as fast as they came. 

Yet, now that he was awake Ash remembered a lot of things. He remembered waking up for the first time and seeing a blue jay land on the window sill, hop about for a bit, before flying off. It had black speckles across its wings. He couldn’t understand why that stuck with him. Sure it was beautiful but unnecessary. He could remember the opening notes to the intro of _Criminal Minds_ and _NCIS._ They always played after each other in the 5:30-7:30 time slot during dinner. The sound of the hospital bed's front left wheel wobbling down the ICU hallway towards the elevator to take him to the fifth floor was also permanently ingrained into his head. He was high as all hell off of whatever pain meds they were feeding him through his IV and was listening to the Nurse talk about the children's unit and how he’d probably like how bright and colorful it was but the stupid wheel had been driving him crazy.

The most recent thing he could vividly remember was the smell of black coffee omitting from Jessica's coffee cup when the two had come to visit him for a second time. His eyes had been locked on the television screen across from the end of the bed that had been playing whatever Nick Jr. show he’d accidentally landed on while he’d listened to them talk about the court dates and the papers he’d have to sign coming out of the hospital. It had all been overwhelming. 

Max had left Ash a phone when the two were asked to leave. Visiting hours had ended quickly. For whatever reason he’d assumed Ash would have some important business to take care of and left it sitting on the nightstand to his left.

Ash, of course, did not. 

However from time to time Sing would send him photos of Nadia's cooking or of the Lions outside the library and Ash would lay in bed pretending he had something important to attend to. It at least gave him something else to do than lay in bed, watching the IV drip and splash for hours on end. 

He shifted slightly, pressing his head back into the pillow. His side stretched under the movement before settling back into a dull ache. The snow was beginning to melt and it did so rather slowly, much to Ash’s disappointment. His phone chirped quietly on the nightstand. It lit up the space around it for a moment before growing dark again. He rolled his head to look at it before it chirped once more, brightening and darkening. He reached his hand over to it, scooping it up and repositioning on the bed. Four missed calls and quite a few texts from a wide array of people had come through while he’d been out. The most recent two belonged to Sing. He swiped them open, half expecting them to be photos of the ducks down at the lake. They were not.

_Sing Soo-Ling:_ Hassenfeld Children's Hospital. 430 E 34th Street, New York. Court ruled 

Blanca has legal guardianship over you and Yut Lung.

The second text contained a google maps photo with a crudely drawn red circle around a building of the same name. Langone, huh? He frowned as he stared at it.

_.Ash Lynx:_ Cool dog statue. I already assumed Blanca would be with me when I got out

 _Sing Soo-Ling:_ He was planning on it according to Max. One of Shorters guys heard 

Blanca sent Yut Lung there for an inpatient program yesterday.

Ash stared at his phone for a second as he shifted once more to compensate for the growing pain in his side. He opened up Google, copy pasting the address into the search bar. 

_Sing Soo-Ling:_ Ash? Hello?

 _?Ash Lynx:_ Is he okay? What happened

_Sing Soo-Ling:_ Idk, didn’t get all of the details, actually. I just heard he’s in there. I’d have to 

speak to Blanca myself. He didn’t seem okay when I last talked to him, tho.

 _Ash Lynx:_ Didn’t know something was wrong. I know he’s your

partner in crime now so I guess I assumed you would’ve known

 _Sing Soo-Ling:_ “Crime” is in loose terms, Ash. And I hadn’t spoken to him personally in a 

few weeks before I found out. Sorry.

He sighed quietly and closed the app, heading back to his search. He was mildly curious what would actually influence Blanca to do something like that. Sure, he was well aware he cared a lot about all of them even if he didn’t physically show it but he couldn’t really imagine Blanca being the bigger person and putting his foot down in a situation like this. Usually he was a “learn from your mistakes” lecture kinda guy. This was new to him. 

Ash squirmed slightly, finally finding a spot that was both comfortable and cold. He opened his conversation with Blanca, staring at the last few texts. _“No problem, don’t thank me. Text me if you never need anything. I cancelled my trip.”_ was the first text he’d received when he’d woken up. He’d wanted to thank the other for what he’d done and more or less, looking back, it was a jumble of misspelled words and random letters thrown in where they didn’t belong. Something about it brought mild comfort to him.

. _Ash Lynx:_ Sorry about my last text. I was still on Morphine

The text remained unread. _Probably busy_ . He sat back and shifted his gaze towards the tv. A large orange fish was dancing around with a group of mermaids, singing about going outside. Ash snorted quietly, more or less amused at it. Children's TV was so simple these days it brought him back to living at home with Griff. He looked back down, seeing the _read at 6:09 pm_ pop up before three dots jumped up and down on the screen. 

_Blanca:_ I could figure that one out :D How are you feeling?

 _Ash Lynx:_ Fine. Exhausted, but I’m feeling better. I can hold a conversation and make sense 

now. I assume that’s an improvement

 _Blanca:_ You can text like a normal person, so it is. Lol

 _Ash Lynx:_ You’re the only person I know who uses “lol” unironically

 _Blanca:_ Up until we parted ways, you used “lol” quite a lot too, might I remind you.

Ash snorted, shaking his head. He hadn’t quite noticed how similarly Max and Blanca were. Must be a dad type of thing. 

? _Ash Lynx:_ Anyways. Everything okay in the Lee world

 _Blanca:_ You could say that, yes. 

. _Ash Lynx:_ Sing told me he heard what happened. Thought I could ask

 _Blanca:_ Ah. Yes. We spoke for a while after the ruling about it. It was mutual. 

?Ash _Lynx:_ Yut Lung took your advice

 _Blanca:_ Yes. He took it surprisingly well. I won’t discuss his private life without his 

permission, however we decided it was beneficial.

 _Ash Lynx:_ Good to hear you’re both ok. Send me his phone

.number when you aren’t busy. When I get out of here, I’ll pay you back for the trip's costs

 _Blanca:_ Will do, though I don’t know if he has his, and no need.

 _Blanca:_ After all you still owe me a dinner :p I’ll stop by later tonight if you’d like. 

?Ash _Lynx:_ You’re going to eat hospital food

 _Blanca:_ No, however I will come sit with you. 

He stared at the text and shut his phone off, reaching to set it on the nightstand. Seemed like hell on earth had calmed down. Maybe for a moment, maybe forever. He couldn’t quite tell right now. He’d decide in the morning on that. Ash looked back at the TV.

_Some things could wait until later._

  
  



	2. Ghosting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blanca pays Ash a visit. The two discuss personal matters and emotions after the fight, though something in the air is making Ash slightly suspicious of the older man.  
> -  
> Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5uOkx4zFWLOpHoP0ky4CBU  
> \- Song 2, Ghosting by Mother Mother

The remainder of the afternoon was uneventful. The orange fish on the TV disappeared after a while and Ash had fallen asleep. A nurse came in once to check on him. It was around seven when he awoke again to the sound of the door opening. 

“Thank you.”

“Of course, Sir.”

A familiar voice filled the room, dominant, but soft. He turned his head.  _ Blanca.  _ His eyes opened to find his guess was correct.

Blanca was standing there with snow still clinging to his hair and jacket, his face still flushed from cold. He shut the door, glancing over at the bed. He smiled and crossed the room to sit in one of the chairs beside the bed. “Good to see you’re awake.”

“I wasn’t until you walked in.” Ash shook his head. “Sorry, I would’ve gotten up earlier if I’d had known you were on your way.”

“My apologies.” Blanca laughed softly. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

Ash nodded. He stared at him for a second before looking away. The room fell silent as they sat there. It wasn’t awkward, but some sort of tension hung in the air. Ash could sense something on Blanca. Some sort of hesitation, guilt, disgust. He couldn’t tell though he could feel its presence. The lights buzzed softly overhead, the machines beeping closely in time with it. 

“When are you supposed to get out?” Blanca turned to look at him.

“Tuesday next week if I can get up and walk around by the weekend.” He glanced up at Blanca. “What about Yut Lung?”

Blanca shrugged, his arms crossing over his chest. “It also depends. I couldn’t really tell you on what, however. I haven’t spoken to or gone to see him since I left. I was hoping I would have been able to speak to him last weekend. I never ended up receiving a call.”

“You must be lonely.” He snorted, leaning back. 

“Not necessarily. I got a cat to keep myself company, though I assume once he comes back home the cat will stick with him.”

Ash snorted once more. He couldn’t quite picture Blanca as a cat person. Since he’d first met him, he had always received that impression of him. He was quite displeased whenever he’d come in contact with Dinos tabby cat, Sally, or see a stray dipping into an alley on Broadway. Blanca was also too… aloof to own a cat. Ash could only imagine the clashing personalities between the two. Maybe a doberman or a large golden retriever would better suit him, something that could combat his cold personality. Some happy go lucky dog that would play frisbee in the backyard. Then again, Ash could indeed see Yut Lung as a cat person. Stubborn, aggressive, skittish, and introverted. Perhaps this was Blancas way of paying back Yut Lung, trying to convince him he cared about him and to get on his good side. He assumed he was trying to break away at him enough to finally say “ just get one”. 

Though, he couldn’t quite picture Yut Lung allowing something as filthy as a dog into the house. Tracking mud and water onto the expensive furniture, the chase lounges, the pillows. Ash smirked at the thought.  _ It would be amusing to watch.  _

“What?” Blanca stared at him, expressionless. 

“Nothing. I didn’t know you like cats.”

“I don’t. It’s just a companion for the time being.” He nodded. “So I don’t feel… you know-”

“Guilty?” Ash tilted his head. “You can say it outloud.”

“I don’t know if it’s guilt. I just feel as if I let you all down. You’re all so young.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Two of you are in the hospital, one of you is across the world, and for Christ's sake, I don’t even know where Sing is and I’m supposed to be looking over him for Yut lung. Part of me feels as if I failed. I was hired to protect you all and it didn’t go so well. You almost died, your friends dead, Eiji’s injured, and Yut Lung-”

Blanca hesitated. His hands raised, moving to try and help form the words for it. His mouth opened and closed before he sighed. “Yut Lung’s complicated in his own ways.”

He frowned, watching Blanca. He could feel the stress somewhat radiating off of him now that the walls had finally come down. He reached out slowly and patted his shoulder, offering a smile. 

“I mean, nobody died so that’s a positive.”

Blanca chuckled, shaking his head again. He stared out the window for a second before turning to face Ash. His hands came to rest in his lap, clasping together. “That is true.” He nodded. “So, Tuesday, huh?”

“Tuesday. Max said he’d come pick me up unless you wanted to. He and Jessica were gonna let me stay in their apartment for a while.”

“No, no you should stay with them.” He shook his head. “You’d probably prefer their care over mine.”

“When I got the flu once, you were rather aggressive taking my temperature.” Ash smiled, nodding slowly. “But I still appreciated it.”

He nodded back, looking at the TV. It once again fell silent, though the previous tension had dispersed. About half an hour since Blanca arrived, a nurse came in to drop off dinner. It was a bland meal of mashed potatoes and jello; hardly the  _ worst  _ thing he’s had in a hospital. 

Blanca stared at it for a moment before looking away, staring at the TV once more. His nose scrunched ever so slightly before his face returned to a deadpanned gaze. It was comical to watch. Throughout dinner the two stayed silent. They watched TV, and every so often they exchanged words, ‘bless you”’s when the other sneezed, and the occasional glance. It felt… normal. Almost like life was finally settling into a tempo it could run with and it would start to make sense. Hopefully that’s how it would stay.

Blancas phone buzzed quietly in his pocket, a jingle of a ringtone blaring out with it. He reached into it and pulled it out. A frown crossed his face before he stood up, answering it. 

“Hello?”

Ash studied him. His gaze settled somewhere in the distance as he listened. His free hand coming to rest in his pocket.  _ Probably Fidgeting.  _ Blanca used to in order to avoid sounding worried, nervous.  _ Guess nothing really changed.  _

“Dr. Monroe. It’s good to hear from you again.”

Blanca turned to him, raising a hand to tell Ash to hang on before he left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Ash stared at the small window in the door, watching Blanca’s mouth moving with no sound for him to hear. He frowned and he leaned back, his hand reaching over, searching for his phone. Simultaneously it beeped quietly, screen brightening. 

Ash stared at it, hesitating before scooping it up. He scanned the text for a second before smiling.

* * *

**_1 New Text Message - 40 s_ **

_ Okumura Eiji:  _ I leave for maybe five minutes and you get stabbed. I can't tell if I'm disappointed or not.

* * *

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Hope you are all doing well! Long time no see lol ;). Hopefully I am settling back into a rhythm of working for these fics. I will be publishing a few other fics over this weekend, so stay tuned! I'll be discussing some of these in chapter 2 (I believe) of "personal updates" if you're interested. 
> 
> I want to write and publish some other Banana Fish stuff in the near future since I'm in Banana Fish brain rot. If you'd be interested feel free to drop any suggestions in the comments. I'll pretty much write anything (that isn't SMUT YA LIL NASTIES THEY ARE T E EN A G E R S GOT DAMN) that doesn't cross the lines of non-con or pedophelic so ya know. Just. Drop it. 
> 
> I am excited to hear your thoughts!  
> Drink water, wear your masks, and stay safe!


	3. Eiji

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash receives a call from a close friend, and the two discuss personal matters.  
> -  
> Song: Eiji from the Banana Fish soundtrack  
>  \- Playlist link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5uOkx4zFWLOpHoP0ky4CBU

Ash raised his phone closer to his face, studying the text for a moment. It was just like Eiji to worry about stuff like this. He didn’t exactly live in a world like they did; gangs, the mafia, the like. It was all new to him and it was probably terrifying to even begin understanding. After all it had taken himself a long time to adapt to the culture surrounding him and he came to understand that initial leap into it never exactly goes away, only growing longer as you’re mid-jump and it feels like you’ll truly never rest easily on either side. You’re always somewhere in the black void of a middle ground trying to operate the differences with no mistakes falling between them.

He could only begin to understand how Eiji felt going through it so suddenly. At least, with himself personally, he had a group of people willing to guide him through the situation. For Eiji, it was almost as if he was forced to adapt and overcome on his own guidance. 

_Okumura Eiji:_ I leave for about five minutes and you get stabbed. I can’t tell if I’m disappointed or not

 _Ash Lynx:_ Probably disappointed. Glad to hear from you again.

 _Okumura Eiji:_ Probably. It’s good to hear from you again as well. How are you doing?

 _Ash Lynx:_ I’m exhausted and in a lot of pain but I’m okay. Blanca came to visit, s

so I’m not exactly lonely. How are you?

 _Okumura Eiji:_ Doing good. Back home with my family, getting to see some friends back here at home. Can you call?

 _Ash Lynx:_ Yeah sure. Once Blanca leaves I probably could. Give me maybe half an hour.

 _Okumura Eiji:_ *thumbs up*

Ash smiled, setting his phone on his lap once more. He glanced back out towards the window. Blanca had something similar to a concerned look on his face, his free hand was running through his hair. He looked somewhat nervous as he spoke. He would say something, his mouth would shut and his eyes would close before he would begin speaking once more. It was as if he was picking and choosing his words carefully.

After a while, Blanca nodded, lowering his phone and pressing a button. He stood there, studying the ground for a moment, and pocketed his phone. His lips pressed into a thin line and he pushed up, reaching for the door handle and moving back into the room.

“Sorry about that. Had to take it.”

Ash raised a hand, shaking his head. “No worries.”

“I have to head out, however.” Blanca picked up his jacket, beginning to put it on. “I have a personal meeting I have to attend across town, if that isn’t an issue.”

“Not at all.” He shrugged. “I have plans anyways.”

Blanca eyed him for a moment, an eyebrow quirking at the idea. Ash could assume he was probably shocked he had “plans” though he could see him returning to a deadpanned gaze with a nod and a gentle smile. 

“Alright, then.” He turned to face him. “If you need anything, reach out to me. I’m not too sure when I’ll be able to respond, however I’ll check in tomorrow.”

Ash nodded back, leaning into the pillows. He raised his hand in a wave and watched him leave. It was silent for a second before he picked up his phone and opened the previous conversation with Eiji.

 _.Ash Lynx:_ I’m free now, as long as you are

A read at 8:45 message popped up, followed by the three dots signaling Eiji was responding. They disappeared and reappeared a few times. After a moment a call request came through. Ash stared. A wave of anxiety washed through him, sending chills down his spine. He couldn’t quite remember the last time he felt this anxious about something. He swiped, hesitating before raising his phone to his ear.

“Hello?” 

“Ash!” Eiji's voice pitched and Ash could almost vividly picture his wide smile. 

“Eiji.” He smiled as well, closing his eyes. “It’s good to hear your voice again.”

“It’s so comforting to know you’re okay.” Eiji sighed. “I was worried something happened.”

“No. No, I was saying bye to Blanca. I didn’t mean to alarm you.”

Eiji chuckled and Ash felt something in him grow relieved. It had, for the first time since he’d woken up, felt so welcoming to… have not died. When he’d first opened his eyes in the ambulance he questioned a lot of things. A lot of why’s. Why me? Why didn’t I die? _Why couldn’t I die?_ And part of him knew he’d willed himself to push through it. Everything was pointing to the fact that he should have and not that he could have. 

He assumed it was freak luck. 

He knew, now, it was anything but.

“It was my biggest regret, leaving New York to come back to Japan.” Eiji made a sound that Ash couldn’t quite name, though it sounded happy, joyful. It made him smile again. 

“Was it now?”

“When I got the call I worried you’d died. I assumed that if I’d had stayed you wouldn’t have been in the library and we would have been out somewhere together. It was a relief to hear that you were stable and doing well.”

“Yeah. The only thing I can really remember is Max telling me you sounded like you were shitting yourself when he told you the news.”

“Don’t say it like that.” Eiji grunted, cringing. “I was worried but not to that extent.”

Ash laughed. “I know you better than that. Don’t lie to yourself.”

“No. No way would I ever admit to that.” He laughed as well. “That would be embarrassing and I wouldn’t hear the end of it if my sister heard.”

“Ah, yeah. Because that would be the worst thing that’s happened in the last few months, huh?” Ash shifted, reaching to turn off the TV. 

Eiji laughed once more and it sounded like he was moving through something, a door closing after a second. He said something in Japanese that Ash couldn’t quite translate. A car engine hummed quietly in the background.

“Going somewhere?”

“The store. Nowhere fun, sadly.”

“Ah. Sounds great.” 

Ash glanced at the clock, scrunching his nose. It had to be somewhere in the afternoon, he guessed, for Eiji. The two spoke for a while longer, the car humming never quite leaving the calls background. The sound only managed to get louder and it almost seemingly multiplied. _Why was he in the city?_

“I better let you go.” Eiji sighed. “I’ve gotta get what I need and head home.”

“Yeah. You’re in Tokyo, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. Closer to Ota City.”

Ash nodded, saying his goodbyes as he hung up. A frown crossed his face, staring at his phone. _Ota City._ He hadn’t quite heard of it before. He plugged it in, setting it on the nightstand. Ota city. He’d look it up tomorrow. Maybe Sing would have heard of it. 

Wherever it was, it sounded nice.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a little nod towards the stories direction to the people who know Japan. However, thank you for reading! I don't quite know what else to say without spoiling anything for you all.
> 
> Stay safe, drink water, and wear your masks <3


	4. fever dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash finally gets to leave the hospital, getting to head to his temporary home with the Lobos while he figured out where he'd go next.  
> -  
> Song: fever dream, Mxmtoon  
>  \- Playlist link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5uOkx4zFWLOpHoP0ky4CBU

_ Ch 4 _

It had been a few days since Ash’s call with Eiji. He spent a lot of that time reflecting on it. Part of him felt guilty. He couldn’t begin to understand how worried he probably was receiving a call like that after getting home and finally settling in, under the impression everything was ok. Yet, the other part of him knew everything was okay. He was concerned that he hadn’t heard from Eiji in those few days, but he could assume he’d been busy. Probably hanging out with his family.  _ Hopefully _ hanging out with his family.

Sing had come to visit on the following Friday, talking very vividly about how they were expecting a snowstorm on the day he was supposed to get out and how the lions at the library were clad in bright red suits resembling Santa for the upcoming holiday. He seemed rather excited for it, stating how Chinatown was decorated for the season. Ash had nearly forgotten it was Christmas time, he knew that fact didn’t really matter. He would be stuck in the hospital so it wasn’t like anything would change. 

The holiday came and went. It was rather uneventful. The Lobo family had stopped by to hang out for a while, Blanca had called him, and Sing had sent him a Merry Christmas text. Though, the rest of the day was…as predicted. He’d gotten up, walked around with his nurse for a while. He asked a bit about the weather, how close Hassenfeld children's hospital was from here, pretty… boring things. To be honest, he hadn’t really had a clue how to talk to her. She was rather sweet and clearly had a lot to discuss with him, asking him about his friends, stuff he liked to do, those kinda basic things you ask children and teenagers, but he had no idea what to talk to her about. His conversations with adults weren’t exactly something he looked quite fondly on in the past and couldn’t look to for reference. So he was pretty much just winging it.

Other than that, the remainder of the day consisted of the same Bland meal, same tv shows, and same events of the other days. He’d lay in bed, stare at the tv, watch the blue jay land on the window sill and fly away, text with a few people, then pass out. It wasn’t nearly glamorous but, compared to his past holiday experiences living in the Golzine estate, it was rather tame. 

Ash was thankful for that.

Tuesday came quite quickly after, with his doctor determining he would be able to head home after a speedy recovery and his ability to eat and keep solid foods down, though he didn’t have an issue with it to begin with. He woke up somewhere around ten to work on filling out papers with his doctor, finishing around noon. Ash didn’t have much else to do, not really having anything he’d brought with him. He did, however, collect the drawings off of his wall from Micheal to bring back and some of the photos that Sing had given him while he visited. He smiled as he stared at them, setting them on the nightstand next to him. 

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, pausing as he sat there. He’d gotten used to sitting in his bed. He didn’t have to worry about anyone coming in to bother him, to screw with him. It was the first time he actually felt taken care of and it was calming. He didn’t have to worry about just simply sitting in his own “room” for the first time ever. He glanced out the window, watching the snow begin to fall.  _ Guess Sing was right.  _

There was a gentle knock on the door before it opened. Max peeked his head into the room before smiling widely. 

“Morning, Ash.” He moved in. A cup of what Ash could assume was coffee was clutched in his hand. 

“Morning.” Ash nodded, turning to look at him. “I didn’t know you’d be here so early.”

“Neither did we.” He shrugged. “Jessica was getting anxious sitting at home and decided it would be best to come a bit early. Micheal was onboard with the idea so I was out voted two to one.” 

Ash hummed, nodding once more. He looked up towards Max. “Sounds like her.”

Max nodded, chuckling. He moved to sit in the same chair Blanca had a few days prior. He looked at him for a second before looking around the room. 

“How has everybody been?” Ash shifted. “Like I said, I haven’t quite seen anyone.”

“Well, I think everybodys been doing rather well.”

He nodded, glancing out the window and standing up, reaching for the bag. Max grabbed his coffee, taking a drink. It fell oddly silent between the two as Ash began digging through the different items inside. He hesitated, pulling out a blue, empty folder. It had “MATH” written across it in sharpie. 

“Micheal thought you’d want one of his school folders to bring home your photos.” Max laughed quietly, shaking his head. 

Ash smiled, turning and setting it down. He opened it and began to place the items into the separators. The smell of coffee began filling the room.

He stared at the different collections of images as he organized them. Ash hadn’t quite realized how different they all looked side by side. He lingered on one of the photos of him and Eiji. It was a photo from back in LA, taken by Ibe when they were working on the computer. Another smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he slipped it into the folder. 

“Hey, Max?” He glanced towards him. “Can I ask you a kinda weird question?”

“Shoot.” Max nodded, taking a sip.

“Do you and Blanca keep in contact?”

“A bit. A while back we spent a few hours on the phone but from then on I haven’t really spoken to him.” 

“I was just curious. Blanca was talking about some issues he was having.”

“Hm.” Max sat back, glancing at him. “Well, last we spoke he talked a lot about how he was stressed. I assumed it was just one of those adult crises of becoming a parent suddenly. I didn’t think much about it.”

Ash glanced at him, shutting the folder and sitting back down on the bed. “Did he mention anything in particular?”

“He mentioned an accident that happened during dinner. That was kind of it. He didn’t really say names but he sounded exasperated.” Max side eyed him, leaning back with a shrug. “Why? Did something happen?”

“No. Nothing happened.” He shook his head. He began digging back through the bag, looking at the clothing. “I was just a bit curious if he said anything differently to you than to me.”

“Nope. Nothing.” He stood up. “Didn’t say anything about the boy either, if that’s what you’re wondering. The one from LA.”

Ash snorted, pulling out a sweater and some jeans. He looked up at Max, watching him begin to head out of the room to give him a moment.

“Yut Lung, you mean. I wasn’t asking about him. I was just curious if Blanca was alright..”

“Sure Ash.” Max glanced at him, chuckling as he opened the door to step out.

Ash smiled. To be fair he was curious. Not necessarily only about Yut Lung, but more about the group as a whole. He had only really heard from Sing and rarely did he come with any updates. Sure, learning anything about the infamous Lee family would be useful but he had more important questions he could be asking even if he had his own suspicions on Blanca.

He began changing, looking over at his phone every so often. Part of him was expecting a call from Eiji or at least a text. He knew Eiji knew when he was getting out, having texted him to confirm he’d be able to talk more once he left on Tuesday. The other part of him didn’t quite know what to expect. He expected to die, he expected to be ten feet below the ground right about now. But he was currently changing, about to go “home” to a “normal life”, expecting a call from someone across the sea, and, for the first time, feeling like he was really living. 

Ash smiled to himself as he straightened up, eyes locking on the window. The blue jay was back, hopping around. It would be the last time he’d see that bird, hopefully, and it almost felt… comforting. He looked down at his sweater, flattening it out. 

_ Everything would be normal. Finally. _

“Ash?” Max knocked on the door. “Can I come back in?”

“Yeah.” Ash sat back down, letting out a sigh. 

Max stepped back into the room, leaving the door open. He offered a smile, moving back towards the seat. “The nurse said she’d bring a wheelchair in to take you out.”

Ash nodded. He reached for his phone, double checking it again.The room fell silent, the methodical beeping having gone away awhile ago. For a while the two sat in almost perfect silence. Max had begun talking about Micheal and how he’d gotten registered for soccer. He was talking about how he was wanted Ash to come see him play when the nurse walked in, wheelchair in tow. 

Ash pushed himself up, accepting both offers for help moving from one space to another despite not really needing it. He hesitated before he sat down. A blanket sat neatly folded in the seat. Part of him knew it looked familiar.  _ The one Eiji had. The one that had been Griffs. _

Part of him knew it was a coincidence. A lot of people probably sold similar blankets with similar colors. The blue looked a bit off anyways. It was just an interesting coincidence, maybe Max or Jessica had assumed he’d like the familiarity of it. 

“Ash?” Max watched him, hand on his arm.

“Yeah, yeah sorry just… thinking.” He picked up the blanket, sitting down and readjusting.

After he was situated in his spot, the nurse helped him spread the blanket out. The walk down to the lobby was also rather quiet. The nurse was explaining the home care post op, her heels clicking on the spotless linoleum floor beneath them. Every so often Ash would hear Max sip his coffee, mumbling and nodding. 

They reached the rather crowded lobby during the nurses lecture on trying to keep track on getting up and down too much. Ash nodded, looking around. Lots of families sitting, standing, talking. They were all unique and it was somewhat odd to see the conglomeration of them all in one place at one time. 

“Ash!”

He turned his head, seeing Micheal standing with Jessica a few feet in front of them. He was waving rather rapidly, his free hand in his mothers. After a second he let go, running forward with a piece of paper in his hands.

“Hi Michael.” Ash smiled, leaning forward and opening his arms to hug him. 

He jumped up, hugging him tightly to which Ash hugged him back. It was nice. Knowing you were cared for. 

“Look!” Micheal let go, handing him the paper. “I drew something for you again!”

He took it, looking down at it. It was a rather crude drawing done in crayon of Ash sitting in what he could presume was a wheelchair while Micheal was standing next to him, holding a soccer ball and a sun in the corner. Next to it was written:  _ Get well soon, Ash - Michael. _ The writing was, clearly, Jessicas but he could appreciate how different the two were. 

“Wow bud. You drew this?” He looked down at him, nodding. 

“All by myself! Mama helped a little bit but don’t tell her that, she’ll say she did all the work.”

“Ah. Gotcha.” Ash ruffled his hair, smiling once more. “It looks great. I thought you somehow brought Picasso back to life for me.”

“Nope! All me!” Micheal smiled more. 

“Micheal. Be careful.” Jessica stood behind him, patting his head. 

Ash looked up at her, snorting. The two knew Micheal probably couldn’t hurt him, having let the stitches heal for a while before being let out but he knew she meant well. 

“Hey old lady.” 

“Ash.” She shook her head, leaning down to hug him. “Good to see you’re doing well. We missed having you around.”

He nodded, letting go and sitting back. The nurse began re-explaining the entire process of recovery and how the stitches would come out in a few weeks. Ash slowly began tuning it out, having heard the same lecture quite a few different times by quite a few different people. His phone buzzed softly in his pocket and he hesitated, pulling it out slightly to see what it was. He assumed Blanca was finally responding to his texts though paused, seeing a text from Eiji pop up.

_ What. _

_ Okumura Eiji:  _ 👀

_ Ash Lynx:  _ What? Is everything okay?

_ Okumura Eiji:  _ 👀

_ Ash Lynx:  _ Eiji wtf, what’s wrong.

_ Ash Lynx:  _ Stop with the cryptic messages.

_ Okumura Eiji:  _ Nice ride you have there. Seems familiar  🧑🏼🦽 👀

Ash stared at his phone, eyes squinting at the texts. It took him a moment to process the messages before he looked up.

“Eiji?”

The four people surrounding him fell silent as they all stared at him. Jessica shifted, carefully picking up Micheal and moving to the side. 

_ In that moment, it felt like the world stopped moving. _

_ “Eiji!" _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hello!
> 
> I hope you like this chapter, it took me a bit longer to write judging by the fact that I have so much on my mind for this story and not enough chapters to write for. I may make a better judgment on how many chapters there will be here as I get closer, however I will be starting a (more or less) sister fic to this one, beginning around chapter 8 to chapter 16. Again, these are assumed. I will definitely probably move things around as I write, trying to figure out what I need to explore in more detail and what I'd like to cut out.
> 
> My planning doc is almost twenty pages for both of them so (●´ω｀●) there will 100% be content I'll have to cut out. If you'd be interested I'd love to drop my notes for this fic at the end of this for an extra chapter whatever that will be when we cross it!
> 
> However, I hope you really enjoyed this chapter! I know I did despite struggling to write the thing o(╥﹏╥)o
> 
> Now onto chapter five! ╮(─▽─)╭
> 
> Stay safe, drink water, and wear your masks you beautiful humans  
>  \- Lynx <3
> 
> -
> 
> For those who use vocal translators that don't read emojis or those who cannot see the emojis in Eijis text messages, the first two are eyes looking to the left and the last two are a person with blonde hair in a wheelchair and the same eyes emojis! (◠‿◠✿) much love to you all!


	5. Out Like a Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash gets a bit of a surprise when he leaves the hospital and Blancas realizing what it's like to be a "dad"  
> -  
> "Out Like a Light" by the Honeysticks and Ricky Montgomery   
>  \- Link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5uOkx4zFWLOpHoP0ky4CBU

_ " _ _ Eiji _ !” 

The call had rang out, echoing around them. It felt like the world had shut down and it was just the two standing in a vast darkness of empty space. The noise, safe for Ash’s blood roaring in his ears, had almost entirely disappeared. Eiji looked up, lowering his phone. A smile ghosted his lips as he watched him, almost instantly beginning to move towards him.

Ash reached back, placing a hand on the wheelchairs arm rests to push himself up, allowing the blanket to topple to the ground in a heap. He began walking, an attempt to meet Eiji in the middle. He couldn’t understand it. Eiji had been in Japan last they spoke, he couldn’t determine when he would have gotten here or when he would have even flown over to the states. 

Eiji smiled, reaching out to grab Ash. His hands came to rest on his arms as Ash stared up at him, hands grabbing his shoulders. His eyes widened in something similar to disbelief and amazement. He, both, couldn’t believe Eiji was standing there in front of him and had gone behind his back to get to the United States without him knowing.

“Hi Ash.” He stared back down to him, waiting for him to make the first move. His arms were tense under his sweater and everything about him seemed like it was waiting to move. 

Ash let go of him, wrapping his arms around the others neck. It would have almost felt awkward, under the conditions of how they left their relationship, if it wasn't for the fact that Eiji immediately hugged him back. It was refreshing, comforting.

_ Safe. _

To Ash, Eiji was everything he wasn’t. He was kind and slow, strong but soft at the same time. It was a new experience to him that he couldn’t quite, and probably would never, understand but enjoyed being able to be there for it. He held onto him tighter. His eyes shut as they stood there. Slowly the rest of the world came back into the space around them. Eiji let go of him, pulling him back carefully to look down. Another smile crossed his lips.

“When-” He stared back. “How- I-” 

“When I called you I was heading to an airport. Max and I worked something out. I was supposed to be here last Saturday but plans fell through with the tickets. I got on the next flight out. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.” 

Ash glanced back at Max and Jessica, staring at them with another look of disbelief. His mouth hung open and he held onto Eiji more. The two smiled back, watching them. 

“We thought you could use someone to keep you company.” Max shrugged. “Shunichi and I convinced the parents, you should thank him next time you talk. If it wasn’t for him he’d still be in Japan.”

He looked at Jessica before back up at him. A smile finally came across him. A genuine smile he hadn’t quite felt in awhile. A warm feeling filled his chest and he looked up at Eiji once more. 

“I can’t believe you came back.” He studied him. “And managed to lie to me about doing it.”

“I learned from the best.” Eiji smiled again.

The two stared at each other for a while before Ash hugged him again. He couldn’t explain  _ why.  _ Why he’d hugged him again. Why he’d chosen to come off as so vulnerable in the moment. He was putting his life into Eijis hands and part of him was absolutely mortified at the idea. His mind was racing with a million possible outcomes to this situation but… none of them occurred. Eiji only hugged him back, holding him tight. He could feel his heart beat in his chest, pounding as much as his own was. 

He could feel Eiji kiss his head for a moment before letting go of him once more. Ash paused. He couldn’t quite tell if it was out of shock or excitement… or both. His eyes opened and he stepped back. 

“You should sit back down so we can get going.” Max stepped forward, leaning down to pick up the blanket. “Or else we’ll be standing here for an hour.”

“Sorry.” Ash nodded. He stepped back to sit down. “We should get out of here, it smells like death.”

Max chuckled, shaking his head. Eiji let go of him as he sat down and stepped back. Ash reached up and took the blanket, carefully situating it on his lap again. Finally, it felt like the world was steadying again and would settle for a while. Ash silently was praying it would stay in this moment forever. The feeling of being hunted, killed for sport and used, was easing up for the first time since he could even remember. He smiled as the group began moving again with Eiji falling in line to his left. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he looked down to it, pulling it out. A few notifications from Blanca. He must’ve missed it.

“Who is it?” Eiji looked as well, noticing Ash’s puzzled expression.

“Blanca. I haven’t heard from him for a week so maybe he’s just checking in.” He shrugged, opening the texts.

_ Blanca:  _ How do you take care of someone who won’t trust you?

_ Blanca:  _ Also, what’s Sings’ number?

_ Blanca _ : Ash are you there?

_ Blanca:  _ Yut Lung got let out early and he won’t speak to me

_ Blanca:  _ Please I feel like he’s gonna kill me

_ Shit. _

_ This would be amusing.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY  
> 12:43 AM ON JANUARY 28TH  
> I AM B A CK BABY  
> How are you all? I'm sorry this took so long to write :sob:. It wasn't my intent to go on a mini hiatus with this but I gave up half way through, rewrote it five times, had a meltdown, and wrote it in one sitting. 
> 
> regardless, I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Everything's gonna get so so much better from here (/s)  
> Starting this chapter, Two Birds will run alongside this fic which will detail the other half of this story from somewhat of a different perspective ;)
> 
> I hope you forgive me as I post three chapters for two birds with this one, as the added context will help with Catch Fire. 
> 
> Anyways! That seems to be it! I hope you have a good day! Drink water, wear your mask, and stay safe!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! How are you all today :D  
> -  
> This is only chapter one, but I can't tell you how many chapters will ACTUALLY be in this. I'm hoping a good middle ground not too short not too long. 
> 
> I noticed the Banana Fish fandom was kinda dying off here and decided I wanted to throw my stupid "if he didn't die" head canons into the world, guns ablazing. So here it is. I'm also sorry if the layout seems a bit weird. I wanted to mess around a bit :)  
> -  
> Stay safe, wear your masks, and drink water.


End file.
